This week
What's Fresh for Sun. Nov. 27th Deliveries
20 November 2011
Hello wonderful Arganicans!
5 Tips for your best Thanksgiving turkey ever
Follow these simple tips and you'll be rewarded with a deliciously moist, evenly cooked bird worthy of serving to beloved family and guests.
Start with a fully defrosted turkey: If you purchased a frozen Polyface turkey this year, fully defrosting your turkey before cooking it on Thanksgiving morning will take a little advance planning. If you received your turkey on Sunday, you should have plenty of time by simply letting it sit on a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom-most shelf of your refrigerator. You will need approximately 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey using this method. If you received a frozen turkey on Tuesday, the speediest and safest way to thaw it is by soaking it in cold water. Place your unopened turkey (make sure the bag is airtight) in a basin or sink full of cold water. Fill the basin or sink enough to completely cover your turkey by 1-2 inches. Change the water every half hour to prevent bacterial growth. Allow 30-60 minutes of thawing for every pound of turkey.
Do not baste: Repeatedly opening your oven door allows heat to escape, slowing down the roasting process and potentially resulting in an unevenly cooked, dry turkey.
Invest in a good instant-read meat thermometer: Using a good instant-read thermometer is the best way to ensure that roasted poultry is thoroughly cooked. Towards the end of your cooking time, insert your thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh, where it meets the breast, avoiding the bone. The USDA recommends a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Do not stuff the bird: In order to render your stuffing safe for consumption, it needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. While your stuffing takes its sweet time reaching this temperature, the rest of your turkey will have reached this temperature and far beyond, resulting in dry turkey parts. Cook your stuffing separately.
Allow the bird to rest: Waiting an extra 20 minutes before carving your beautiful, freshly roasted turkey ensures that all the yummy, flavorful juices will remain in your turkey.
A Special Wine Release
A few weeks ago we wrote about a new player on the Virginia wine scene, HumeVineyards. Owner/winemaker Stephane Baldi recently moved to Hume and opened a vineyard on his home property. Their first vintage, a 2008 Detour, received rave reviews from wine lovers who made the off-pavement trek onto their home base.
Known by Hume customers as “the wine that started it all”, the quickly sold out Detour is BACK in the ’09 Vintage. Their flagship wine will be a blend of Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Stephane and the team at Hume are very excited for November 26th, when the winery will be hosting a release celebration at their wonderfully cozy tasting room (pictured here). If you are an Arganica member living in Virginia and cannot make it to the release party, you can have this special wine delivered straight to your doorstep. This wine will sell out, so make sure to order soon.
An Alternative Thanksgiving with Jessica
The year after I graduated from college, my dear friend Sarah and I took a roadtrip from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. As we drove eastward we excitedly plotted to spend the third Thursday of November being thankful over the best burritos of our lives.
Unfortunately for us and our deep love of Tex-Mex, we greatly underestimated the sheer vastness of West Texas, and instead spent Thanksgiving dinner 500 miles short of our destination. Defeated, road weary, and starving, we pulled over at the one open roadside restaurant—a Chinese buffet/full-service gas station.
The year after that I attended a “Vegan Friendsgiving,” complete with a roast Tofurky and animal-free side dishes. Less than an hour before the meal, our host broke down in fear of a Thanksgiving sans bird and ran out to buy some baked turkey breasts. The Tofurky was a bit dry and the vegan concept a complete failure, but there was one shining jewel of the meal—a vegan sweet potato pie I baked from scratch. We brought it to Alamo Square Park as the sun set, drank champagne, and felt happy to be together on the grass.
In honor of alternative celebrations and alternatives to traditional pumpkin, here’s a recipe so delicious you won’t miss the dairy for one second!
Alternative Vegan Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups mashed baked sweet potato
- ½ cup Graves Mountain Cannery Applesauce, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan margarine, melted
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup plain Edensoy Soymilk, at room temperature
- 9" vegan pie shell, frozen or from scratch
Directions:
-
Preheat oven to 350°F.
-
In a mixing bowl whisk sweet potatoes, applesauce, sugar, margarine, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg together. Add soymilk and whisk until blended well. Pour filling into pie shell.
-
Bake for 45 minutes. Enjoy! (Serve within 24 hours to avoid a soggy crust.)
A very happy local harvest feast to all of you from the whole Arganica Team!
